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Luther's Ninety-Five Theses: Ecumenical Prospects on Its Quincentennial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2017

Elizabeth A. Eaton*
Affiliation:
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Abstract

Five hundred years after the start of the Protestant Reformation, what are the possibilities for individual and ecclesial ecumenism between Protestants and Catholics? What are the possibilities for common prayer, shared worship, preaching the gospel, church union, and dialogue with those who are religiously unaffiliated? Why should we commemorate or celebrate this anniversary?

Type
Theological Roundtable
Copyright
Copyright © College Theology Society 2017 

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References

1 Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Statement of Agreements,” in Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry, and Eucharist (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2015), 915 Google Scholar. The complete text is available for download and individual reproduction at http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Declaration_on_the_Way.pdf.

2 Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church, Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, October 31, 1999, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html.

3 The Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Common Prayer for the Ecumenical Commemoration, Lund, Sweden, October 31, 2016,” in From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017), 138Google Scholar; “Common Prayer” at https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/dtpw-lrc-liturgy-2016_en.pdf; the English text of From Conflict to Communion at https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/From%20Conflict%20to%20Communion%20EN.pdf.

5 “Common Prayer,” 136; quotation of From Conflict to Communion §221, 85.

6 “Common Prayer,” 141; based on From Conflict to Communion §239, 92; quoted in Declaration on the Way, 3.

7 “Joint Statement on the Occasion of the Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation,” Lund, October 31, 2016, https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/joint_commemoration_joint_statement_final_en_0.pdf.

8 “Joint Statement on the Occasion of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation,” Chicago, March 2, 2017, http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/signed_joint_statement.pdf.

9 Press conference, Lund, October 31, 2016, https://vimeo.com/album/4219653/video/189685569.

10 “Joint Statement,” Lund.